


Nonverbal Response

by shelby_love



Series: Remus Lupin [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Defense Against the Dark Arts, F/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), The Marauder's Map
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29024133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shelby_love/pseuds/shelby_love
Summary: Asking for help was never easy, especially when you know all there is to know about magic. So naturally, your growing feelings for a certain Marauder were the only cause to the doom fall that is acting like you don't know a thing just so Remus can help you.
Relationships: Remus Lupin & Reader
Series: Remus Lupin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130426
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Nonverbal Response

"Your downfall will be your love for that idiot."  
You bunched your brows in utter confusion, glancing behind your shoulder to seize the look on your friend's face with your eyes. She too had her face twisted in surprise.

Sighing, you leaned your back against the pillar you were just hiding behind. "So what?"

"So what?" Cora repeated in disbelief, "He has two gorgeous friends and you're looking at _him_?"

You ignored her dig at James Potter and Sirius Black, "Do you think he likes me back?"

Your closest friend rolled her eyes, "I don't think he's into stalkers."

You slapped her shoulder, "Ow! What was that for?"

From the corner of your eyes, you noticed your professor waltz into the corridor. The rest of the students were ushered in, including both you and the Marauders.

Fitting through the door at the same time as the wave of Gryffindor student body tried to penetrate through it was overly difficult. You found yourself squished, standing up straight just to get some air. After what felt like days, you had walked into the dark classroom to experience yet another tiring period.

Trapped within your thoughts, you didn't even notice who was in front of you before crashing into someone. Your eyes widened and you took a preserving step back immediately, afraid of whose back you had struck with your head. You rubbed the tips of your fingers against your forehead, embarrassed.

You didn't notice the loud voices, meaning you didn't know who they belonged to when you walked straight into the classroom. James Potter was bickering with Peter Pettigrew, quite loudly actually. Your eyes widened, just now realizing that you had stepped into the Marauders circle. Or a Marauders back at least.

You could recognize that shaggy hair anywhere; Remus turned around to face you just as curiously. Looking at him at such close proximity, you could swear on anything that his eyes panicked.

Neither one of you said a word, just continued to stare each other down. "Sorry!"

It was the lamest thing you had done in your life.

Your friend was the proof.

Cora was laughing hysterically when you came to stand next to her in the assembly.

***

The rest of the class flew past in a blur of mishaps and misfortune. Not for you at least, though you didn't try to overshine anyone while practicing the nonverbal spells.

Like always, you had an eye out on Remus, watching him master the spells with ease. He was patient with his friends, especially Peter. You watched as he explained the details to the slow poke, carefully until he got it. The yelps of success could be heard from the smaller boy, both Remus and the professor smiled proudly.

"I have an idea," Cora said suddenly, having just used a knock-back jinx non-verbally to send you hurling back to the other side of the room. Several Slytherins snickered behind you, but just like every time, you ignored the over-confident scholars and instead grimaced in pain.

You placed out your hand and she took it, bringing you to your feet with ease. She stole a secretive smile Remus' way, making your eyes follow hers to find him already looking at you in his own secretive way. "What idea?"

"How to get you and Remus together," she smirked, loving the idea of playing matchmaker. "Although I'm not much of a fan-"

Your eyes widened in interest, "Tell me."

***

"I'll wait outside," your friend muttered before going out with the rest of your housemates. She had a beaming smile on, overly confident in the plan she cooked up in a single period.

You nodded carefully before turning to your professor to further sell him your story, "I can't get the spells right."

"Performing spells non-verbally is very difficult and requires a good deal of practice," he nodded in understanding, his eyebrows creased in subtle surprise. "Although I am surprised to hear you struggle with them, Miss Y/LN."

_Please fall for it._

He seized you again, as if trying to decipher what was wrong with you and if there was a solution for it. Coming out empty, your professor admitted his defeat and nodded. "Very well. I shall assign someone to tutor you."

You closed your eyes and prayed to the muggle gods that he would choose the boy who you both saw excel the class today.

"Mr. Lupin, stay behind please."

It was far too soon for your victory smile to form, so you bit your lip to suppress it the best in your ability. Remus looked as confused as one could be as he came on demand and stood next to you, stuffing his hands in his dark coat. "Yes, professor?"

He gestured toward you, "Miss Y/LN has some trouble with nonverbal spells and I do not wish to see her fall behind in my class, so I'm putting all my trust in you Mr. Lupin. I trust you will help Miss Y/LN the best in your ability?"

"O-of course sir," Remus replied quickly, you watched as blush creeped up onto his cheeks from the corner of your eye. "I'll make sure she gets it."

Your eyes widened panicky, your mind running a million different things through your head.

"You may leave," the professor gestured to the door.

Both Remus and you flew to the doors as if you were sat on broomsticks. You could hear his friends call for him but collected all the courage you had in your body to do something you never did.

You grabbed the sleeve of his cloak and yanked it toward yourself lightly, "Hey Remus…thanks for, um, deciding to help me."

The staggering was awful, but he didn't seem to mind it as he turned around with a polite smile, scratching the back of his neck shyly while at it. "Yeah… It's no bother. I'm glad I could be of help."

_Blimey, he's so polite!_

You too returned the smile, your face more flushed than his. "Still…thanks."

His eyes glimmered, "See you on Friday Y/N."

You waved.

_Waved._

Remus laughed, mimicking the small wave with his bigger hand. He turned around and disappeared into the huddle that was waiting for him. Your eyes glued themselves onto them as you watched James' eyes flash between you and his best friend.

"Merlin's beard what was _that_?"

You almost jumped out of your skin at the voice. Turning around, you noticed the familiar face of your friend, the only difference was the grimace she was wearing. Almost as if she couldn't believe what she saw.

"I don't know…I panicked!"

Cora pursed her lips, " _Well,_ you better not panic on Friday!"

***

The following week flew by in a blur. Million different things to do and a million more to avoid. You had just finished an essay for Ancient Runes, and your mind was buzzing in pain from the overflow that is theoretical knowledge.

"Good thing I didn't take runes," you heard Cora's voice mumble in the back, for a moment mistaking it for a hallucination. "Anyways…"

"Anyways what?" You asked, clearing the table of all your stationary.

When she stayed silent, you looked up. "What is it Cora?"

"Don't tell me Ancient Runes made you forget about the most important part of the week!"

She was leaning against the table, leaving you no choice but to try and think.

Ancient Runes aside.

What else is important?

And then you remembered, like a cold bucket of water was dropped over your head, urging you to remember your tutoring. 

"You're so smart you can't even picture yourself and tutoring in the same sentence," Cora mused. "Never mind, off you go my friend! I'll clean up after you."

"What if make a fool out of myself?" You asked in panic, remembering the fact that you actually know the spells by heart. Something Remus doesn't know.

Her smile magnified, "It's too late now. Chin up buttercup!"

***

You were walking through the grand halls with a shy skip in your step, trying not to act like a giddy schoolgirl. Despite feeling like one, you had no intention of showing it.

Several moving staircases later, you found yourself pushing the dark wood door open and quietly slipping inside. Your Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was collecting his things quietly off the table, readying to go off and finish for the day. He turned around upon hearing the door close, a polite smile on his face. "You're early."

"Oh, I am?" you asked surprised.

"It's alright," he told you, closing his suitcase with a simple spell. "I'll be off now. Good luck."

You mumbled a thank you and sat at one of the tables in the front. There was no point in taking out books as this was, unlike Ancient Runes, pure practice. Instead, you found yourself levitating a lone piece of parchment using the simple spell you learnt in your first year.

The sound of the door shutting was what brought you out of your thoughts. The parchment glided somewhere under the table, the spell no longer controlling its movements. You turned around to face who you presumed to be Remus.

"Did I scare you?" he asked with a crooked smile, walking slowly toward you to place his bag on a free chair.

You shook your head, "You didn't."

Remus glanced at you and you felt the words die on your tongue.

"Well, I suppose we should get started," he mumbled, pulling out his wand. You admired his wand for a second, noticing that the color of the wood seemed to differ from dark to light throughout the lengthy wand. There was a rounded handle at the base he clutched into instinctively. "Wands out."

You laughed at his attempt to mimic your professor and followed him to the middle of the room, fighting the urge to twirl your wand in your hand professionally.

"Before we start," said Remus. "I've got to say that I was surprised to hear you needed help."

 _Me too._ "What's that supposed to mean?"

Blush stained his cheeks, "I mean, we've been going to school together for like 7 years. Never once did you need tutoring."

"Someone's keeping tabs," you teased, watching his expression change from cool to panicked. "I'm joking."

"Right," Remus laughed awkwardly. He stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking through the best way to explain the unknown to you.

Little did he know.

"I guess we can start with the basics," the boy said, gesturing for you to move in front of him. Both of you took your positions, you facing the door Remus opposite of you. He placed himself with a little more ease than yourself. You had to sell it or else all chances of you two would go down the drain.

That's what you kept reminding yourself.

"Do you want me to run them down or do you just need help with practice?"

You shrugged, "Both, I guess?"

Remus looked at you weirdly, "So much about acing the Dark Arts this year."

You pretended to be offended by his words, secretly liking the teasing on your account. "Hey! J-just run them down."

"Nonverbal spells are special because they give you a split-second advantage when dueling. I say this from experience, the sooner you master them, the better your life will be."

"Experience, huh?"

Remus smiled, " _Someone_ has to watch over them."

By them, he meant his Marauder friends - the great mischief makers.

"Sounds about right."

He agreed with a nod of his head, "Alright."

The next few moment were a blur. You didn't know what he would do and that gave you no time to think about a blocking spell. The next thing you knew, the parchment you had levitated before this had burst into flames.

" _Incendio_ ," you mumbled in realization, turning to look at Remus who for the first time wore a smug smile on his face. Holding out your wand to the small flame, you prepared yourself to mumble _Aguamenti_. "Hold that thought."  
You furrowed your eyebrows, "What thought?"

"You were about to use _Aguamenti_ to put out the fire," he noted. "While that's usually the right thing to do…I'm teaching you _non-verbal_ spells."

"You're serious?"

"Mhmm," Ramus mused, quite proud of himself for catching on. "No words _please_."

With a barely controlled huff, you extended your wand again, this time taking a deep breath as you did so. "Just focus on the spell. Your wand will listen to you even if no words are spoken."

Your breathing hitched after you heard, rather than felt, him get nearer. The wish you had was for him to come even closer, but that was not possible in the said moment. _Act like you don't know it._

You felt the burning feeling your wand gave you in a wish to cast the spell and sooner rather than later, a blast of water surge from the tip of your wand.

A familiar feeling of success washed over you and you looked at Remus with a big smile. "I did it!"  
***

You were inside for what felt like minutes, laughing, having fun and _learning_. Though this was not a learning experience, Remus didn't have to know that.

His laugh was even more intoxicating now that you've been together for a while. The biggest part of you felt content with the proximity. Goosebumps became permanent residents on your skin, your heart thumped at the same quick pace for a while now too.

Your skin would tingle every time he grabbed your hand and pulled you up, his smile becoming a permanent tattoo in your mind. His jokes on your account made your hear beat so hard and so fast that for a moment you thought it might actually fly out. Fortunately, it didn't. There were butterflies in your chest the entire time.

" _Boo!_ "

All it took was that exclaim to have everything you've worked for go to waste.

When Cora's smiling face appeared in the classroom, you didn't think because your natural instincts that react to a hysterical best friend kicked in and you pulled out your wand, pointing it at her and, without a word in her direction, sending her to her butt. Cora yelped in surprise but continued to giggle even while she sat on the floor.

She decided for you that you needed a push or else you would walk out with knowledge you already had; the boy who was your entire mission would slip right past you.

Then it hit you.

Both of you.

Cora's eyes widened as she frantically stood up, brushing herself off like you didn't just send her to the ground like a powerhouse. "You're so good at mumbling spells that I didn't even hear you. D-did you Remus?"

You shook your head in defeat.

"There is still hope!" She squeaked out and ran with her tai between her legs like a scared cat. Though not literally.

The moment the door closed behind her you turned around, "I can explain-"

"Really?" Remus laughed, monotone. "You lied to me. I don't know how you can explain that."

Your brain worked overtime in hopes of fishing out answers that would save you the misery. It was incredibly scary to see Remus walk around the classroom angrily, gathering his things without a glance in your direction. You ran a hand through your hair earnestly, keeping your eyes trained on him.

He was about to go when you finally admitted to yourself what you knew had to be done all along, rejection be dammed. "I like you!"

Remus stopped at the door, his body half-way inside the classroom and halfway out of it. Slowly he backed up until all of him was with you again, "Come again."

"I like you. A lot," you said, mumbling out the last part in embarrassment.

It didn't feel relieving. The confession. If anything, it was nerve-wracking, and all because of a simple reason – you didn't know if he felt the same way.

Though the subtle blush on his cheeks was a positive indicator, you didn't want to take its word for it. 

Something clicked in his head and he turned back around, walking toward you without a word. As he leant forward your pulse raced more than ever. A lock of hair brushed against your cheek, but with a swift move of his hand, it was brushed away. You looked deeply into his green irises and saw a lot of emotions.

Then his lips touched your own.

Time stopped alongside your heart, followed by your breath that got caught in your throat. Instinctively, your fingers laced together under the kiss. It was sweet, just like you thought it would be.

A small grin crept onto your face after he pulled away as silently as he had swooped in, your eyes locked, sharing a million stories.

"What was that?"

"My nonverbal response."

He swooped in and kissed your cheeks.

Twice each.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, you lovely person! If you liked what you read you can check out my Tumblr writing account under @shelby-love and dive in to see my other work! Much love x


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